FORT MYERS, Fla. -- If someone asked how many children are in foster care in SWFL, would you know the answer? It's actually surprising, according to the Children's Network of SWFL, there are more than 2,000 children in the foster care system.
That's why Thursday, several volunteers got together for "Red Day," an event where real estate agents with Keller Williams Realtors, donate their time to a certain cause. The realtors decided to help give Oasis Youth Center in Fort Myers a much-needed makeover.
If you're anyone like Erin Harrel, who's fostered children for two years and Raymond Bellinger, who's been through the system himself, and works at Oasis, a day like today was pretty special.
"We learn as much from them coming into our house as they do from coming in," said Harrel.
"It makes your heart feel full, it makes you have faith and believe in that there are still good people out there," Bellinger said.
Dozens of volunteers got dirty, raking, painting benches, and remodeling the 22-bed facility. They say they wanted to make the center feel as much like "home" as possible.
"It doesn’t matter what put them here, they need help, and they need to be happy and they need to be loved on," said Shari Smith, a realtor, and volunteer with Keller Williams.
But the 22-bed facility isn't enough for the 2,000 children living without a home in SWFL. Raymond Bellinger says he hopes people who take notice of what these volunteers are doing at the foster care center, may consider opening their homes to those who need it most.
If you're interested in adopting or fostering a child, you can find the information here at the Children's Network of Southwest Florida and the Lutheran Services of Florida.
https://www.lsfnet.org/children-families/foster-care-and-adoption/